1983–84 Dundee United F.C. season

The 1983–84 season was the 75th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 1983 to 30 June 1984. United finished in third place, securing UEFA Cup football for the following season. Having won the Scottish Premier Division the previous season, the Terrors entered the European Cup for their first and only campaign in Europe’s elite competition, reaching the semi-finals before narrowly losing to AS Roma, the Italian side later admitting to having attempted to bribe the match referee.

Dundee United

1983–84 season
Chairman	George Fox
Manager	Jim McLean
Scottish Premier Division	3rd (UEFA Cup) W18 D11 L7 F67 A39 P47
Scottish Cup	Quarter-final
League Cup	Semi-final
European Cup	Semi-final

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 58 competitive matches during the 1983–84 season. The team finished third in the Scottish Premier Division.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first. Own goals in italics

Premier Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20 August 1983	Motherwell	H	4–0	9,465	Kirkwood (2), Hegarty, Taylor
3 September 1983	Dundee	A	4–1	13,651	Reilly (2), Milne, Stark
10 September 1983	Hibernian	H	5–0	7,790	Dodds (2), Milne (2), Kirkwood
17 September 1983	St Johnstone	A	2–1	6,969	Dodds, Holt
24 September 1983	Aberdeen	A	2–1	21,093	Bannon, Kirkwood
1 October 1983	Rangers	H	0–2	16,738
8 October 1983	Celtic	H	2–1	19,741	Kirkwood, Gough
22 October 1983	Hearts	H	1–0	13,157	Dodds
29 October 1983	Motherwell	A	2–2	4,398	Dodds (2)
5 November 1983	Dundee	H	0–1	14,813
12 November 1983	St Johnstone	H	7–0	7,937	Bannon (2 inc 1 pen), Dodds (2), Hegarty, Gough
19 November 1983	Rangers	A	0–0	27,842
22 November 1983	St Mirren	A	0–4	4,408
26 November 1983	Aberdeen	H	0–2	16,972
3 December 1983	Hibernian	A	2–0	6,978	Milne, Stark
10 December 1983	Hearts	A	0–0	9,199
27 December 1983	Celtic	A	1–1	25,982	Bannon (penalty)
31 December 1983	Motherwell	H	2–1	6,967	Stark, Hegarty
7 January 1984	St Johnstone	A	2–1	5,066	Dodds (2)
11 February 1984	Hibernian	H	2–0	7,675	Hegarty, Malpas
25 February 1984	St Mirren	A	2–2	4,007	Kirkwood (2)
3 March 1984	Celtic	H	3–1	15,236	Bannon, Kirkwood, Dodds
11 March 1984	Hearts	H	3–1	10,058	Coyne (2), Bannon
31 March 1984	Hearts	A	0–0	7,852
2 April 1984	Dundee	A	5–2	12,732	Malpas, Reilly, Dodds, Bannon, Milne
7 April 1984	Hibernian	A	0–1	4,266
14 April 1984	St Johnstone	H	3–0	11,332	Sturrock, Reilly, Coyne
18 April 1984	Aberdeen	A	1–5	7,663	Reilly
21 April 1984	Dundee	H	1–1	13,244	Clark
28 April 1984	Motherwell	A	3–1	1,870	Dodds, Gough, Reilly
30 April 1984	St Mirren	H	2–0	5,347	Holt, Reilly
2 May 1984	Rangers	A	2–2	7,354	Sturrock, Dodds
5 May 1984	St Mirren	H	2–2	5,025	Sturrock, Narey
7 May 1984	Aberdeen	H	0–0	8,029
12 May 1984	Celtic	A	1–1	10,281	Sturrock
14 May 1984	Rangers	H	0–1	6,473

Scottish Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
6 February 1984	R3	Ayr United	H	1–0	4,441	Sturrock
18 February 1984	R4	Hearts	H	2–1	14,731	Sturrock, Dodds
17 March 1984	QF	Aberdeen	A	0–0	22,000
28 March 1984	QFr	Aberdeen	H	0–1	16,094

League Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
24 August 1983	R2	Dunfermline Athletic	H	6–1	5,324	Gough (2), Holt, Taylor, Dodds, Bannon
27 August 1983	R2	Dunfermline Athletic	A	2–0	2,618	Gough, Dodds
30 August 1983	G1	Alloa Athletic	H	5–0	4,483	Dodds (3), Reilly (2)
7 September 1983	G1	Greenock Morton	A	1–1	2,500	Houston
5 October 1983	G1	Motherwell	H	4–2	5,731	Gough (2), Reilly, Bannon
26 October 1983	G1	Greenock Morton	H	3–0	6,645	Johnstone (2), Milne
9 November 1983	G1	Alloa Athletic	A	4–2	2,220	Dodds, Reilly, Bannon, Milne
30 November 1983	G1	Motherwell	A	3–0	1,319	Milne, McGinnis, Reilly
14 February 1984	SF 1	Rangers	H	1–1	14,596	Dodds
22 February 1984	SF 2	Rangers	A	0–2	37,180

European Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14 September 1983	R1 1	Hamrun Spartans	A	3–0	12,300	Reilly, Bannon, Stark
28 September 1983	R1 2	Hamrun Spartans	H	3–0	8,213	Milne (2), Kirkwood
19 October 1983	R2 1	Standard Liège	A	0–0	22,500
2 November 1983	R2 2	Standard Liège	H	4–0	16,674	Milne (2), Hegarty, Dodds
7 March 1984	QF 1	Rapid Vienna	A	1–2	38,266	Stark
21 March 1984	QF 2	Rapid Vienna	H	1–0	18,865	Dodds
11 April 1984	SF 1	Roma	H	2–0	20,543	Dodds, Stark
25 April 1984	SF 2	Roma	A	0–3	68,060

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Aberdeen (C)	36	25	7	4	78	21	+57	57	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Celtic	36	21	8	7	80	41	+39	50	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
3	Dundee United	36	18	11	7	67	39	+28	47	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Rangers	36	15	12	9	53	41	+12	42
5	Heart of Midlothian	36	10	16	10	38	47	−9	36

Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

See also

• 1983–84 in Scottish football